


The Slaughtered Prince

by klanstability (Shanimalx)



Series: Among the Stars [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (and lance loves him back), (kinda), Drabble, First Kiss, Flirting, M/M, Pirate AU, Princess Bride AU, Romantic Fluff, Sharing a Bed, Sharing a Room, Stardust AU, no one dies thats just the name of the inn from the movie, the secrets out keith loves lance, yeah thats the stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-11 23:01:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15326310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shanimalx/pseuds/klanstability
Summary: Lance knows a lot about love.[Lance feels a little more human when he's around Keith, based on the kiss scene in the inn from Stardust]





	The Slaughtered Prince

**Author's Note:**

> do not ask me about continuity or timelines, _i just don't know okay_
> 
> also how has no one uploaded a higher res version of this clip

A bathtub of water is not the same as the ocean. There are no stars up above, only wooden roof supports, and there isn't a lot of room for Lance to spread out his arms and lose himself in the sway of the tide. But it's warm, and that's a feeling he doesn't get to experience very often, so he loses himself in the numbing heat instead.

And while the ocean is as silent as the sky, quiet enough that Lance can pretend that he's floating up there again, this bathtub is not a fantasy-friendly environment. It's surrounded by a creaking floor and shuffling footsteps as Keith rummages about their room, and Lance is left to try and pretend that those sounds are coming from their boat instead. Lance didn't think he could miss it the way he misses the sky, but he reassures himself they'll find their way back soon.

For now, they're in the loft of an inn they were lucky enough to stumble across in the dead of night. It (the loft, not the inn) only has one bed, but Lance couldn't find it in himself to care much last night. He tells himself it's because after that _horrid_  fire swamp, any bed at all is better than the floor, or even the stained cots in the crew's cabin. Especially when he's sharing it with Keith.

Plus, the room's got this nice bathtub, which is nestled discretely in the corner of the room behind a decorative privacy screen.

Keith pokes his head through an opening in the screen and peers down at Lance sitting amidst a mountain of bubbles. "You almost done?"

"Hey!" Lance squeaks, "that screen is there for a reason!" He slinks lower into the water and tries to push some of the bubbles towards his more... sensitive areas. Keith only chuckles. 

"They'll be expecting us down for breakfast soon. We shouldn't keep our hosts waiting."

"Well, stop looking then! Close your eyes, you numbnut!" Lance glares at him.

Keith laughs louder this time, but does as he's told, moving his hands to cover his face as he backs away. "Okay, okay, I'll turn around. I promise I'm not looking."

Lance let's out a huff. _Don't humans have any decency these days?_   He steps out of the tub and wraps himself in the fluffiest towel on the shelf, careful to keep an eye on that sneaky captain.

"Alright, you can open them now," he says once the towel is securely tucked around his waist.

Keith quietly turns to settle his gaze back on Lance. Lance is only running another towel over his head to dry his hair, but Keith's smile is warm enough to make him feel like he's back in the bathtub.

"What?" he asks, softer than he meant to.

"You're beautiful," Keith mutters as he steps closer. He runs his hands down Lance's arms until their hands meet, but it doesn't take Lance by surprise as much as it probably should. It gives him delightful goosebumps.

"I'm a _star_ , Keith," Lance protests with a smirk and a chuckle, but it gets caught in his throat when Keith brings one of Lance's hands to his lips. He's met with a tingling warmth that spreads up his arm, and suddenly his heart is thrashing in his chest. 

It's silly how responsive this human body is. He finds it simply astonishing how ordinary touches can send the strongest of emotions coursing through his bloodstream. How easily they can get away from him. Make him behave irrationally, against his better judgement.

But this feeling... the one where Keith's lips are pressed gently to his left knuckles is something unlike anything he's felt in this body before. That warmth that has rooted itself in his heart feels so much deeper than the skin of this form. It strikes him hard and runs straight down into the very core of his being. This isn't just another silly human construct. It's not hot bathwater. This is real.

One touch and Lance _knows_ this feeling.

It's hard for him to wrap his simple human brain around, for this feeling is something he can only recognize from his past a million miles away. He's only ever been able to conceive it's full expression in the only way stars know how.

So when his arm that's stretched between them--the arm connected to the hand connected to Keith's lips, but also his cheeks, his face, his hair--when it begins to shimmer, Lance is not surprised.

Keith _is_. And understandably so. He looks up into Lance's eyes, and Lance is struck again with how much more nuanced humans are than he first gave them credit for. In Keith's eyes he can read a dozen questions: _What the hell is happening? Should he be worried? Does this mean he did something wrong? Has he crossed a line?_  

But Lance is smiling without restraint now, and the wider it grows, the brighter he glows. His puny human heart is full to bursting, overflowing into the radiance he emanates.

When Keith finally gets the hint, he smiles back just as wide. He grabs Lance's face--with both hands, gently, purposefully--and pulls him closer without a second thought.

**Author's Note:**

> why does my inspiration only strike at 3am? how the hell did they get to the fire swamp when they're supposed to be on a boat? will i ever actually write a legit klance kiss instead of loading up on the pining and fluff for a thousand words and then stopping right before? these are all excellent questions, please let me know if you find the answers.
> 
> ask me more about this au on [tumblr](https://klanstability.tumblr.com/)!


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